Tuesday, October 29, 2013

Hammerhead Navigation - Great Navigation Tool for Bicyclists

Many of my readers may remember that I have a Garmin Edge 705 and that I also use an iPhone for Navigation. While these devices are good for navigation, they both lack in some regards, such as:

The Garmin is useful, many a time, but in Atlanta (and, in other cities, where I have used it), it has often routed me through some extremely busy, unsafe, streets. I am not sure how Garmin is incorporating feedback from real data (from cyclist who commute, legally (not riding on the sidewalk, against traffic, etc).

Google Maps is great, but I hate to have to mount my iPhone on the handlebar, for I am not sure I want to buy yet another contraption. I am not wanting to buy a all-weather case for my iPhone and I do not want to expose my iPhone to inclement weather. Another drawback with the iPhone is its pathetic (IMHO) battery life, when using Google Maps or any mapping software. Please note that I do have the biggest and the greatest iPhone, to date; namely, the iPhone 5s.

Finally, I want simplified directions, when it is not necessary to have the whole shebang. Quite honestly, I seldom look at all the data that my Garmin provides anymore, particularly when I am riding. I want useful info and less noise!

That said, it is not often that I get excited about products specifically built for cycling navigation. But, I am very excited about Hammerhead Navigation and I am backing it.

I am pretty psyched about this product. It offers me many of the things I am looking for, in one very innovative, simple to use, yet effective package!

Below, for my readers convenience, I have provided material from Hammerhead.

Saying more with less

All the information you need in a clear and distilled manner. Hammerhead shows you everything you need to navigate while not distracting you with text, small graphics or the need for headphones. We developed cues and signals; much like those used by race car drivers or fighter pilots. It works well in all light and weather conditions. You can even customize the light array within our app to suit your preferences.

Discover

Pull out our app. Discover a great ride based on your preferences: hills, distance, scenery or difficulty. Hammerhead will guide you through the route seamlessly with safe, simple, and intuitive turn-by-turn instructions.

Share

Know an awesome ride? Or the best way to get through a city? Share this knowledge instantly with friends and the community. Our app makes it dead simple to send routes to others. Instead of just talking about it, share that ride that you know so well and get rewarded in the app for your contributions.

Strava, MapMyRide - in real time

We are big fans of Strava, MapMyRide and some of the other biking apps out there. We believe you should experience them in real time. Hammerhead gives you turn-by-turn navigation from the routes and segments that you want to ride from your favorite app.

Compete live

We believe that competing in real time beats waiting to see how you did when you get home. Hammerhead will show you your start, end and goal speed for each moment in a segment, and how far off it you might be. Don’t compete blind. Make your efforts count.

Catch friends

Hammerhead guides you to meet up with riding buddies that are out on the roads. Join group rides without having to coordinate meeting times and locations.

Off road

Hammerhead is also at home on the trail. Its internal compass and unique red dot pursuit will guide you through the wilderness. Navigate anywhere from trails to the open desert. All with the same safe and simple turn-by-turn light instructions that you’ve grown to love on the roads.

Long battery life

Our app is ultra efficient, and your smartphone screen remains off. Your smartphone will run for over 5 hours while working with Hammerhead. As for the device itself,we built in the latest LiPo technology to ensure the Hammerhead will last for over 20 hours before recharging via micro USB.

Highest accuracy location

Because Hammerhead uses your smartphone’s GPS system, you get a more accurate GPS reading than you would with most standalone GPS units. Don't stand around waiting to acquire satellites -- go ride. Our app pre-loads route information. Venture into the unknown without needing cell service to navigate.

Bike share

The new bike share systems arising nationwide are awesome. We have designed Hammerhead to be able to snap right onto them and guide you around through the urban maze. Hammerhead will even show you how much time you have left on the bike as well as take you to the nearest available docking station with ease. Make urban bike share a complete solution.

We are close

The Hammerhead is more than a year deep in development and testing. It is a truly unique product - there is simply nothing like it. It solves a really big problem – safer, more efficient bicycle navigation – while being really affordable. We need your support to enable us to scale Hammerhead and get it to you. We have partnered with the best minds in manufacturing and software to get you this revolutionary product for the spring riding season.

Join us

We ask you to do two things:

Share this page with your friends who bike. They will thank you for putting them at the cutting edge.

Back it and become one of the first to have social bike navigation.

Together we will unlock the safe, awesome biking routes that are hiding in plain sight.